Some of the bullets struck the restaurant wall, and two pierced one of the windows, police said. Other customers were in the restaurant when the gunfire erupted, but the customers weren't sitting near the deputies.

The deputies, who were in full uniform, did not fire back. They were seated near a window.

"I just heard someone yell, 'Get down! Get down!,' " said a restaurant manager who declined to give his name.

Jackson described the shooting as "not a very common thing. We've certainly had police cars shot at, but nothing where guys are sitting in a restaurant and eating."

The restaurant is in a busy commercial zone just off Interstate 80 and surrounded by strip malls, other chain restaurants, car dealerships and a motel.